U.S. Sen. Barack Obama confronted rumors that he is a secret Muslim in a conference call with the Jewish news media. “It is very important for everybody to know that it is fake,” Obama, a Democratic presidential contender, said Monday.
The Illinois senator spoke with the Jewish media minutes before he was due to receive a key endorsement from U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.). Obama listed falsehoods that appeared in an e-mail campaign aimed at Jewish voters.
“I never practiced Islam. I was raised by my secular mother. I have been a member of the Christian religion and an active member of a church,” he said. “I was sworn in with my hand on my family Bible and have said the Pledge of Allegiance since I was 3 years old.” Obama, who also answered questions about his Iran and Israel-Palestinian policies, as well as noting that he had rebuked his church’s past association with Louis Farrakhan, concluded: “My strong and deep commitment and connection to the Jewish community should not be questioned.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
